All posts tagged blood angels

We’ve been long been assured that the next Horus Heresy Big Black Book (or BBB for short) from Forge World will include the Blood Angels and Dark Angels amongst other things. We’ve known this for quite some time, but does anyone else feel like we’ve been waiting quite a long time for this book? And with no real gossip, rumours or leaks to keep us going? Maybe it’s just because I’m a collector and painter of the IXth Legion, but it feels like an age since the book’s confirmation. So what’s the hold up?

A Busy Schedule

Forge Worlds like Mars, Metalica and Lucius are well known for their relentless output, but our own Forge World Nottingham has been pumping out rather a lot of hardware recently too. By all accounts, no one at GW HQ expected Blood Bowl to be as popular as it has been, and with FW leading the charge on that game, it’s understandable that the presses have been running red hot churning out Blitzers and Linemen of various races. Then there’s all the work going into Adeptus Titanicus which was underestimated by Forge World who are determined to get it all looking amazing. This game has been pushed back to next year, but then Necromunda is only just around the corner now. Add into this all of the Lord of the Rings work that’s going on, as well as continuing to support and release models from the last BBB for the Space Poodles, Golden Boys, Quiet Girls and Psychic Space Egyptians.

That’s not a bad churn for a “Sister company”. But has anyone else noticed a little bit of a general Heresy slow down of late? Black Library were churning out so many 30k novels that I could barely keep up, and yet they’ve gone relatively quiet of late. Yes, there are the ‘Tales of the Primarchs’ novels, and a few other bits and pieces, but few of the big, meaty novels that progress the story closer to Terra have been appearing of late. Forge World continue to give us a a few Heresy units too, but what with everything else, this has quietened a little as well. Are they building up to something big? Once this BBB drops, will we be heading to the Siege of Terra? Will we get a “Year of Heresy”?

But We’re Still Being Teased

Yep. We’ve known the next book will include the Blood Angels for a while now, and all those months ago when the Deredeo Dread was released, we got our first glimpse of Forge World’s colouring for the Blood Angels.

…or did we? Look at the above image compared to one of the latest Sicaran battle tank:

The reds are completely different so does this mean things have had to be redone? Was that Deredeo paint scheme just a test? It’s all rather intriguing, especially when coupled with no new BA miniatures appearing at the Open Day. I was sure we’d see at least an early sculpt of something but nothing showed. But then we did have rather a lot of everything else to look at.

So, What Do We Want To See?

Ok, so taking Sanguinius out of the equation (because pretty much everyone wants to see what he looks like – and yes, I shall be purchasing), what do we want, or expect to see? I’ve picked out a couple of units/characters that I really want to see come out of this book, and be supported with miniatures from Forge World. Here goes:

Raldoron – One of my favourite characters from the books so far, and Sanguinius’ First Captain. I want to see Cataphractii armour, a few animal skins (sorry, Peta) and a stern face. He always strikes me as the most sober and least flamboyant of the IXth Legion so it will be good to have someone to counter all the fanciness that’s going on everywhere else.

Sanguinary Guard – Ok, so there’s a GW kit for these guys, but that kit is starting to look a little tired these days and a Forge World interpretation would be darn fancy. I’d expect a few more white robes along with the classic gold armour. Oh, and some bigger, more dynamic wings on the jump packs too. Throw in Ezkailon for good measure as well.

Captain Amit – Who doesn’t want to see the Flesh Tearer himself rendered in resin? Nassir Amit would look great in his battered armour, and whether armed with a power sword or his twin chainfists (I know these came later, but come on – how cool would it look?!), he’s going to be a beast. Would love to set him up opposite Kharn and see who wins that fight.

Unique Assault Troops – Loads of different weapons and some fun designs on the armour would make this a great unit to take. It’s the Blood Angels’ signature troop choice and having some cool load-out options (I’m thinking extra flamers with added flamers) and you can just shut up and take my money.

And So Now We Wait…

That’s all we have left to do. Wishlist and wait. I’m sure Dark Angels players are feeling the same way as I do at the moment; Eager, a little desperate for some gossip, and ready to get going on their legion specific . I can’t wait to pick up this book and plenty of forces to go along with my 30k Blood Angels army. I’d just love to hear a bit more about when this is going to happen so that I can plan my budget accordingly. The last book hit in Q1 (I think) of this year, so will we get in a second book this year with everything else FW have got going on? We shall wait and see. Onwards.

Finally! My Blood Angels Veteran Tactical Squad is, at last, done. The Horus Heresy now welcomes Squad Castor – The Black Helms, 1st Squad of the XIIIth Chapter of the IX Legion. It’s a bit of a long title, so let’s just call them the Black Helms, shall we? It’s taken me a couple of months to find the time to finish them, but I’m happy I took the time – not too shabby looking, and certainly unique, even if I do say so myself.

This marks the last bit of the Betrayal of Calth box and the penultimate unit of ‘Phase 1’ of my 30k Blood Angels Legion project. And boy, do these chaps like setting fire to things. I showed them off in the WIP from last month, but you can see better above that these guys are certainly packing plenty of templates (which should still be around in 30k for a little while at least, even if they’re not long for 40k). Let’s take a look at the rest of the squad shall we?

So, why the black helmets? Well, I initially planned to paint them gold, as per the conventions regarding Blood Angels vets, but for whatever reason, this didn’t sit quite right when I was imagining them. This project, as long term readers will recall, has drawn a lot from the 2nd Ed 40k box art from John Blanche, and there’s not a whole lot of gold going on there. I guess there could be, but there isn’t and the effect felt a little alien to the rest of the army’s aesthetics. Then I realised that, without the Death Company around in this era, and with no other unit claiming the colour for their helmets, I thought; why not? I used mostly Forge World upgrade BA heads and I’m really pleased with the way it turned out. Also, this can add to the unique narrative I’m forging for the XIIIth of the IX. Black means death to the Blood Angels, and maybe these warriors have cheated death for so long, that they wear its own colours in defiance. Something like that, anyway.

I also wanted a bit of yellow throughout to make them pop. Maybe this shows off that they have the ability to operate as assault vets, though on this occasion they’re favouring a tactical load out. The knee pads, and yellow blood drops on their shoulders help to liven them up a bit, and help to tie them in to the themes of my army as a whole.

You’ll notice that my Legion Vexilla is a little different for this squad too – a piece borrowed from the Sanguinary Guard kit that helps these guys to both fit in and stand out in the army. The heavy flamers are a great looking bit of kit but if you want to avoid hobby-inspired rage, you should be warned that fitting the fuel line from the tanks on their backs to the weapons can be a nightmare. They actually led to me thumping a model with my fist (don’t worry, I pulled the punch) for the first time in decades. “Fiddly” doesn’t begin to describe it. But hey, that’s what super glue, green stuff and therapy are for, right? Oh, and as with other minis in this army, heavy flamers mean white flames and their shoulder pads do help them to pop a little more.

I’ve given the squad a bit of height and variation with some very simple but effective basing too. Half on slate, half not – it’s a very easy way to keep things interesting and it takes very little effort to do. Oh, and the sergeant is wearing the Master of Signals’ backpack. It was meant to be the nuncio vox upgrade from Forge World, but I mixed them up, and in the end decided to stick with this. I’m not intending on using my Master of Signals any time soon, and it does look rather fancy – again, it helps to make him a little different from the other sergeants.

Speaking of the sarge, meet Sergeant Castor. He’s got his black flames, yellow cloth, and even a golden Sanguinius mask to be getting along with. He also has his trusty hand flamer and a stonking great power fist for no other reason than it looks cool, and when you’re packing a squad like this full of bells and whistles, the additional points involved with power fists… well, you just think ‘Why not?’. And there’s the “SaOlNpS hOaF lHeOgRiUoSn” (read the caps and lower case letters separately) helmet on his base, with its bolt hole. I’m really happy with various parts of this particular mini. The power fist looks good, it’s one of the best bare heads I’ve done, and that’s some of my best ever script work on both the fist and his shoulder. Winner.

And there you have them! All done, and on to the next project. Which will definitely not be another 10 man squad. Not for a while at least. No, I think these guys need a unique and fancy ride… but more on that later.

Was a pleasure working on these, and I hope you like them too. Any comments, or questions, just let me know in the section below. I hope your own hobby efforts are bringing you plenty of satisfaction. Onwards!

So, it’s been a little while since I gave you an update on my hobby progress and I wanted to share with you where I am with my BA Vets. The good news is that the torsos and weapons (between them the longest, most time consuming and frustrating parts of the process) are now almost complete. As you can see above, these guys are a little fancier than the standard tactical squads, and I’ve added plenty of yellows, and even a dash or two of gold to help them stand out.

And yes, you can see two heavy flamers in this squad. These are Blood Angels vets – they know a thing or two about shock and awe, and they do like setting fire to things, so I expect to have some real fun with these fellows drop-podding in and burninating everyone around them. It will of course make this one hell of an expensive squad to bring to the table, but the rule of cool dictates that it must be done. But what of their own mighty leader…

Yep, that power fist is going to make them even more expensive. But it looks so cool. I can win games with ‘cool’, right? Also happy with the helmet on his base there. Is it Sons of Horus, or is it Alpha Legion…? Well, instead of trying to be mysterious, I’ll just say that it kind of works as either. Which is fine. I mixed the paint myself so it’s a little too green for Alpha Legion and a little too blue for the SoH. Works either way, so I’m calling that a win. And what will my sergeant have in his other hand?

Yes indeed, that is a hand flamer. Because why have two template weapons in a squad when you can have three? And again, it looks cool. Winning.

Once this is painted up and put in place, it will be shoulders, backpacks and heads. Of course, I will keep you up to date with progress here as and when I can. I hope your own hobby-related endeavours are going well for you. Onwards!

And it is done. Finally, after well over a month of avoiding the damned lump, my Blood Angels Spartan is now complete and ready to join the ranks of my slowly growing IXth Legion army. And now that it’s been in front of the camera and had its glamour shots, I can take you through it all right here.

Firstly, this is a beast of a kit, and Forge World have done yet another fantastic job on bringing a rather chunky beast to life. It weighs enough to club a man to death with, and despite my best efforts, there are still a couple of mould lines here and there, but for the most part it’s looking good (which is a miracle considering I assembled it in a grumpy and hungover mood – see previous WIP post).

As mentioned in a previous post, this kit has helped me to realise that I’m not a huge fan of working on big kits (a bit of an issue considering that there’s a titan still waiting to be built/painted) but I’m relatively happy with how this turned out. Yes, it does have a bit of a wobble (my fault), and It’s about 10% green stuff (still my fault) but weathering hides a multitude of sins. I used the same weathering techniques that I used when I did my rhinos, and it’s worked out really nicely. I’m especially happy with how that weathering worked on the tracks too. Dulling them down with Typhus Corrosion and those dry-brushed greys really takes the edge off the silver colours.

I’d also forgotten that, having painted more than a couple of Land Raiders over the years, I really hate painting the sponson weapons that come with those. Those las-cannons are always so fiddly to get right, and the Spartan of course, comes with twice as many. I kept it simple and I can live with them. I also have to say that the FW Land Raider doors look great on this assault tank. I thought about going crazy with the freehand here, but I’m glad I didn’t. The White Stripe and the doors do enough for the sides. This is a workhorse vehicle – not a fancy pants tank. I am getting an itch to do a bit more freehand now though…

I have to say, despite my previously professed adoration for Mephiston Red as a colour, I’m getting a little tired of it now – after this. It’s still glorious but I think I’m starting to dream in Mephiston Red. There is definitely a change due soon – if only for a short break.

I’m quite happy with the engine stack. I feel I could have done more with it, but I don’t think anyone will be looking at it too much, and it fits with the other tanks that I’ve worked on, so I’m not too bothered about it.

I am looking forward to seeing this on the table top. The idea of it disgorging my terminators onto the battlefield, right in the heart of the enemy ranks, gives me a wicked smile. And for that reason, I actually painted a bit of the inside as well. It’s basic, but it’s better to do it – it makes the model feel more complete. The Cataphractii Terminators do look massive next to this tank though. Even so, it’s a lot of awesomeness.

And that’s that finished! On to the next project, which will almost certainly also be Blood Angels related, though hopefully not this big. I fancy working on something small and interesting that won’t take me a month to work through. Something with no side sponsons, mould lines, interiors or green stuff. But I shall leave that until the next post. I hope your projects are going well, and until next time; Onwards!

As it’s going to take me a little while to get this finished, and as a nice Friday treat, I thought I’d share with you a couple of images of my latest project – A Spartan for my IXth Legion. Here it is in very little of its glory:

Thankfully, a lot of the leg work is done here. All the base coats are on, and the silver areas, and the top of the hull, have all seen some wash, but boy did it take some effort to get to this point. You know when you get a perfect storm of issues that lead to a project being a lot less fun than it ought to be? Well, that’s what I’ve been going through with this.

It started on Boxing Day (26th of Dec for those who don’t box), when I put this kit together. I was hungover and grumpy from a lot of festive celebrations so I was less than caring when assembling things. Entirely my own stupid fault, and I have plenty of regrets. It’s a gorgeous kit, and I owed it more TLC during assembly. But I will forever be reminded of this as there’s a little bit of wonkiness running through everything. Not overly noticeable to most (I hope) but I’ll know. There are also a lot of mould lines that I have spent a lot of time removing and this thing is now more green stuff than resin in some places, and some of the lines are still there. Weathering will save the day in the end, I’m sure.

I wanted to get one bit of it finished just to have some sense of true accomplishment, and so I have done the upper front door, which is one of the Forge World upgrades meant for Land Raiders. This is ever so slightly wonky, as it was a tad too thin and so I had to add a couple of millimetres of green stuff down one side. But that is literally the one bit that is done. All the rest of the tank is still to do and it’s going to take a while. I haven’t even built the guns yet!

So this is what will be keeping me busy for the foreseeable future. And speaking of those guns, they’ve come in classic curly FW styling so they’ll be getting a dunking in boiling water before I even start with those. But yeah, it’s a beast. A huge kit that will be fun, but I am realising more and more that I do prefer working on smaller miniatures. I don’t mean epic scale or anything like that – but I get a lot more enjoyment out of working on a single character than a big tank. I’ll still enjoy the tank, but I’ll enjoy painting a single dude a lot more. It’s important to learn these things about oneself.

There you have it then. That’s what I’ll be struggling through, and you will see the completed monster here soon(ish). May your own projects go well and speedily for you. Onwards!

How’s that for a quick turnaround, eh? My second Blood Angels Deimos Rhino in as many weeks! Done, and looking dusty in record time, I now have to try and make this blog post interesting seeing as I just wrote a post about a very similar tank last week. Let’s see how that goes.

As with the last post, I can say that the kit looks great, and is a little tricky to assemble if you don’t read the instructions. It is a joy to look at when finished though, and while the GW variant is a classic, this Forge World version just looks so cool. Classic styling with modern design aesthetics – very nice.

So, yeah, it’s the front of a rhino again. I suppose the weathering is a little different, and the missing paint on the white stripe is also a little different… yeah, it’s a little different. Oh, yes, and there isn’t a flamer on this one. I almost forgot that. This tank sticks to the combi bolters. This was done because I thought it was only right because one ought to have a pure, basic variant. Also, Forge World doesn’t give you enough hatches in the pintle mounted weapons set to allow you to do too many of these – the one minor drawback of a great little upgrade kit.

The weathering was fun to do, again. Beaten up brushes, sponges, blacks, greys and Typhus Corrosion in generous but subtle amounts. Also, again I’d like to give a shout out to Mephiston Red spray – such a wonderful product. Were I to do it again though, I might not cover the silver parts with it. A bit of masking tape might mean a single coat of silver rather than a couple. I could knock these out even faster!

And (again – sorry about all the repetition) there are some tactical arrows on the roof to go along with the unit that will be riding around in this thing. And, that’s about it. For all other details, rather than repeat myself, please see the post about the first rhino from last week. But, as a treat, here are a couple of snaps of both APCs together.

That’s me done with Rhinos for a little while at least. Bigger fish to fry. Well, one bigger fish anyway. That has taken up a lot of liquid green stuff – but more about that later. In the meantime, I hope you’re enjoying the Gathering Storm as much as I am (you have no idea how much I want to talk about it but I’m going to wait so as to not give away spoilers). Lots to look forward to there. More on that, and my Blood Angels in the upcoming posts. Onwards!

I decided that my Blood Angels needed some wheels (well, cat tracks anyway) and so I’ve put together my first Rhino transport vehicle for them. And, as it happens, I’m pretty happy with it. What’s more, I learned a couple of lessons with this one, that I shall happily share with you here.

But before that, let’s talk inspiration. As you will know if you’ve been following the progress of this army, I’ve been using classic 2nd Ed Blood Angels as an inspiration for this army, and it’s no different here. I took the classic Rhino APC from the below image and updated it a bit, and did a fair bit of weathering too. See if you can spot some similarities.

Now obviously there are some differences – a lot of them really, but this was where my ideas started. The tactical arrows on the roof, the symbols on the front, the general colouring… this was in my head when the project kicked off.

So first lesson to impart; read the instruction that come in the box when assembling. I’ve put together many a rhino over the years, but with this kit, things are a little different. I of course charged into it thinking ‘I know how to do this!’ and then came a cropper when I went to go and put one of the side panels. It’s a lot easier if you do it the way they tell you in the instructions. Just so you know.

Second lesson; Mephiston Red spray is brilliant. A couple of thin coats of it, and you’ll have saved your brushes a lot of time. Heck, you’ll have even saved time with your airbrushes if you’re that way inclined. What’s more, with a slightly elevated angle, you get some great natural shadows in there. So glad I picked it up, and will definitely be using it again.

With this kit, I used a couple of extra bits as well. The pintle mounted heavy flamer (because you can never have too many flamers) comes from the FW upgrade clam pack, and that’s some etched brass on the front piece there. As with any FW kit, there’s a lot of swearing involved in assembly, and plenty of mould lines to clean up, but of course you also get an amazing looking miniature when all of that’s done. I much prefer this kit to the one you get from GW when it comes to looks and design.

I’m really happy with the weathering job here. Typhus Corrosion is a great pot of paint and appears all over this tank, but the effect I really like was required by using a couple of grey paints to give the lower parts of this vehicle a dusty look. I’ve used it on my dreadnoughts before now, and it fits in with the basing of my other minis, so it’s great for tying the army together.

Now, why didn’t I do the big white Blood Drops on the doors? A, the door teeth make that a bit difficult, and B, putting white paint onto a red surface is not easy. And by that stage, I’d done enough of it, as you can see from the picture below.

When I worked out that painting white onto red was difficult (which I always knew but we oft relearn this sort of lesson), it gave me a bit of idea. It would be plenty tough for the guys maintaining the armoury on a space marine ship as well. Especially if they’re constantly coming in and out of battle. Sure, the important vehicles would get perfect spray jobs, but rhinos? The workhorses? Maybe when all the paint was being retouched, it left marks, where the new paint was slightly different or applied too thinly or heavily. So I added this to my weathering plan and it worked really nicely I think. Breaks up the flat red surfaces a bit at least. Won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I like it.

And so I shall leave you with the back end of a rhino to look at. Don’t fret though – you’ll have a new front end to look at soon enough. Like the titles says, this is rhino ‘1’. The next one is primed and ready for a bit of attention so I shall get to work on that soon enough. For the time being, I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at this one, and I hope your own painting projects are going well. Onwards!